At least 12 people have been killed and scores injured on Thursday in twin bombings that authorities believe may have been a terrorist attack in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. There has been no official confirmation as to the nature of the blasts, but government officials have said they were carried out by a “well trained” group and were coordinated.

Local media are reporting that the blasts come two days after government security agencies sent an advisory to states to tighten security in light of potential threats from militant groups operating in the region related to the recent executions of convicted terrorists Ajmal Kasab and Mohammed Afzal Guru.

In tweets sent out after the attacks on Thursday evening, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed to the public to remain calm. “This is a dastardly attack, the guilty will not go unpunished,” he tweeted. The attack was the first major bombing in India since a blast outside a court in New Delhi in 2011 that killed 11 people.

KRISHNENDU HALDER / REUTERS

Police examine the site of an explosion at Dilsukh Nagar in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad on Feb. 21, 2013

India has been on alert since Guru, who was Kashmiri, was executed earlier this month in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Guru was convicted of involvement in the 2001 attacks on Parliament in which 14 people were killed, but many in Kashmir in particular believe he did not receive a fair trial and were upset by the handling of his execution.

Forensics teams have reportedly been deployed to the bomb sites along with officials from the National Investigative Agency and Intelligence Bureau. The bombs, which authorities say were attached to two bicycles, were detonated around 7 p.m. outside a movie theater and bus station in a busy area of the city of some 10 million people, according to police.

Singh, in addition to condemning the attacks, announced the government would give 200,000 rupees ($3,700) to relatives of the deceased and 50,000 rupees ($900) to those injured in the attacks. Further compensation has also been offered by the chief minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh, where Hyderabad in located.

Almsgiving after terrorist attacks, though, is an unfortunate tactic all too frequently deployed by the government. Long-standing questions about the capability of India’s security and intelligence infrastructure — which reached their highest pitch following the shocking, deadly 2008 assault on one of Mumbai’s ritziest neighborhood — are once more being raised. And speculation swirls: some analysts point the finger at the Indian mujahedin, an Islamist extremist group. In 2007, Hyderabad suffered twin bombings that claimed at least 42 lives; blame then fell on Harkat-ul-Jihad Islam, another extremist group then anchored in Bangladesh.

But no clear leads have emerged, and both politicians and TV commentators urged caution against “rumor mongering” in the breathless hours that followed the attack. Hyderabad, a historic city that’s now one of India’s leading tech centers, is also at the heart of the Telangana movement, which seeks to carve a new state out of Andhra Pradesh. Tensions surrounding the bid have flared up in recent years.

Terrorism is terrorism.It is neither Islamic nor Hindu.It is the biggest menace the world faces to-day.The third tragedy in Hyderabad could have been avoided,had not the government deployed its law enforcement agencies in crushing the nine-year long agitation for creation of Telangana state.The demand, after all ,is not unconstitutional.By keeping it on the back burner,they have virtually made Hyderabad a haven for terroristgoons.

The blasts are not done by religious parties but by business
owner! But they will show it as a religious conflict to create an impression of
Hyderabad that it’s not safe! Why? As Hyderabad is rapidly developing and
its IT business as well. Hyderabad is an IT Hub of India and soon it will
become the only IT hub due to Tax exemptions and other excellent facilities.
Our intelligences shows Bangalore was rapidly losing business so we think
they are responsible for this. It happened earlier in Chennai in 2003 when
Chennai was about to take over the IT. Coincident happens once not always… wake
up and see the real enemies of India, Dividing India into states / religion /
languages… be united!

"recent executions of terrorism suspects Ajmal Kasab and Mohammed Afzal Guru"? These men were definitely not just suspects, but indeed criminals convicted by the Supreme Court of India. Please proof-read before publication.

@sericrafter Surely you are aware that the RSS was behind the 2006 Malegaon blasts that left at least 35 people dead and more than a 100 injured. The group was also behind the 2007 Mecca Masjid bombing in Hyderabad and the Samjhauta Express bombings. There were more bombings in 2008 in Malegaon again and also Modasa in Gujarat. Are they not acts of "terrorism in the true sense"? Or is terrorism, according to you, practiced just by Muslims? I wouldn't be surprised if it were so considering assault on women in pubs and other such acts of moral policing by right-wing fanatics don't seem to outrage you!

Welcome to the Theater; Elections 2014 where stage is set to nurture Hindutva with innocent Muslim blood.* Opening Shot....................Start a genocide * Show Down.......................Please Hindu* Drop Scene.........................Modi Elected PM.Like all the episodes after the blasts (samjotha express, mecca masjid) will start genocide, wombs will cut open to kill fetus, Hindu majority is pleased, capitalizing on that, Modi is the next PM, Congress tried thier show with the Hanging of an innocent Afzal Guru but looks like RSS script is a mega hit.

In India, the terrorism monopoly is not rest with Muslims alone.Militant Hindu goons Sangh Parivar have also used this road for the last 10 years. Several of them have been indicted and charged for such crimes too. So it is always better to wait and watch where the dirty water is flowing.

@time_reader123 I somehow sense that fundamentally TIME is anti-Indian in ideology. It's just that they require India to promote their publication. India is a huge market for the Western Companies. But they apparently are not bothered about the sentiments of Indians. Also they try to put the facts twisted in their own way to make the general public in Western Countries believe that India is NOT a victim of Terrorism.

TIME and many others hate India. It's it's that which makes them use the terminology like this. Look at the other headings...

When Pakistan soldiers infiltrated into the Indian borders at PAK-Occupied-Kashmir and beheaded them. TIME posted the news as if India attacked Pakistan. That's the kind of prejudice. It's sad.

The blasts are not done by religious parties but by business
owner! But they will show it as a religious conflict to create an impression of
Hyderabad that it’s not safe! Why? As Hyderabad is rapidly developing and
its IT business as well. Hyderabad is an IT Hub of India and soon it will
become the only IT hub due to Tax exemptions and other excellent facilities.
Our intelligences shows Bangalore was rapidly losing business so we think
they are responsible for this. It happened earlier in Chennai in 2003 when
Chennai was about to take over the IT. Coincident happens once not always… wake
up and see the real enemies of India, Dividing India into states / religion /
languages… be united!

@Maaq What is amusing is that all the Western Countries having maximum population of Christians can be Christian Countries. But India with 80% Hindu population cannot be Hindu country. The result Hindus here have been living as secondary citizens since The Islamic Rule and later under British Rule and then later even after Independence. Still Hindus are not entitled to express their opinion.

@MaaqIt has become congress political game to attract Muslim votes by accusing RSS and BJP where the malegaon blasts in which 35 died are done By SIMI and execution of so called Afzal guru who is behind Parliament terror strike is wrong..? then lets do one thing let put all RSS and BJP leaders in Jail and free all Terrorists (innocents in your language).

listen troll, the whole country was divided on the basis of religion. you have the pakistan and hindustan. so if you do not want to live in a hindu majority country with modi as a pm get out bugg off to pakistan or saudi arabia where u can practice ur religion and only muslim bombs will blow u up. so goodbye rubbish

@JohnDahodiSorry, have to call you on that. This comparison is exactly same as putting the 'Extreme right wing goons', 'environmental lunatics' or gang related activities in the same group of such terrorists. Can you please point me one, just one incident in that 10 year period where so called Hindu militants killed innocent people. The lunacy with the Hindu militancy propping up is very obvious, but limited to clashes with the rival groups. But terrorism in the true sense is just not there. Most of the Hindu militants are crazy hypocrites tormenting pub cultures and women freedom.

The home department's files of the last 60+ years clearly demonstrate that the Sangh Parivar has been involved in almost all the Hindu-Muslim riots and have killed thousands of innocent Muslims in broad day lights and have been charged in almost all the reports prepared by the commissions, who have investigated these riots. Gujarat and Maharashtra riots reports are still on the file to take action against such Hindu fanatics but nothing will be done unless the majority of Indians stand up and stop lid on these majority terror groups. As far as real terrorism cases are concerned, the last 5 bomb blasts around the nation has been carried out by the Sangh Parivar and soon the culprits will be sentenced too.

I live in HYD. I've witnessed riots. They happened under Ur favourite Cong-I Govt. Whenever they wanted a change of the Chief Minister of the state the political leaders wud instigate riots. Get some knowledge and then talk.

@SudershanamSrinivas@sericrafter@JohnDahodi I object, Terrorism has religion, terrorist cannot figure out who is hindu and who is muslim at the time of bomb blast, they are just targeting the hindu people and places, if terrorism has no religion why don't blast the bomb at muslim locality like old city they don't do that because there muslims would die if they do so... they are just targetting the hindu people and aiming at a major damage to the hindu society.